Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $3.7\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$85$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Solution: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${3.7\%} \times {\$85} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $3.7\%$ is equivalent to $3.7 \div 100$ $3.7 \div 100 = 0.037$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.037$ $\times$ $$85$ = $$3.15$ You would pay $$3.15$ in sales tax.